Civic Reception for Crystal Swing

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Crystal Swing honoured by Midleton Town Council
story and photos courtesy of Becky Grice of The East Cork Journal

 

Mayor of Midleton, Cllr. Ted Murphy makes the presentation

On Monday night, June 14th 2010, Midleton Town Council hosted a civic reception to honour Mary Murray-Burke and her children Derek and Dervla, collectively known as Crystal Swing.

The Lisgoold / Leamlara band’s meteoric rise to fame has been well-charted: appearances on the Late Late Show, over 1,000,000 hits on YouTube for their song,
‘He Drinks Tequila' and, in April 2010, a visit to Hollywood to appear on the Ellen DeGeneres show.

Last Monday, Cllr. Ted Murphy, Mayor of Midleton spoke of the trio’s success, whilst reminding all those present that, wherever in the world Crystal Swing went, they never forgot about East Cork - always mentioning their home town and, he laughed, doing a better job of promoting the East Cork area than the council ever could! Mary Murray-Burke received a presentation from Mayor Murphy, before thanking everyone present for attending.

She spoke of her love of East Cork, and individually thanked those present for being with her on her, Derek and Dervla’s special night. "This means more than anything", Mary stated, "I never dreamed we’d be honoured like this, and I’m truly humbled to be here tonight".

Mary paid tribute to all those who had supported her, giving special mention to Kathleen Woulfe, Josie Buckley, Cllr. Gerry Kelly and his wife Maura, Fr. O’Brien and Noreen Dillon. Of Fr. O’Brien, Mary stated, "we had the stations in our house about two weeks before everything took off for us. I still say there was a little miracle involved!"

Crystal Swing - who had invited ten of their own friends and supporters along on the night - posed for photographs with those present -including the town’s councillors, with Derek (who is mid-way through his Leaving Certificate) even giving an impromptu recital of the Hucklebuck!

 

Crystal Swing's videos of Cork

"They made the trip all the way from Cork, Ireland to be on the show. Now Crystal Swing
want to show you their hometown! Check out this video they shot in Cork"
- The Ellen DeGeneres website

 

RTÉ's Nationwide program follows Crystal Swing around Midleton and Lisgoold

Group at the Civic Reception:
Standing (l-r): Cllr. Tom Cashman, Cllr. Mary Woods, Cllr. Séan Buckley, Cllr. Pat Buckley,
Derek, Cllr. Margaret Trundle, Cllr. Billy Buckley, Cllr. Niall O'Neill, Cllr. Betty Wall.
Sitting (l-r): Cllr. Noel Collins, Dervla, Mary and Mr. Francie Murray.

 

Over the past few months our lives have been a rollercoaster ride. Our small family band went from playing the local social dancing circuit to suddenly being in the glare of publicity with the associated increase in demands. Over that time we have featured on local, national and international television, radio and print media while our online presence has received over 1 million views. We have travelled the length and breath of the country and abroad playing some of the best venues and meeting the best audiences and some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry. In short, a lot of our dreams have come through, without warning, over a very short period.

Sincerely,

Mary, Derek and Dervla

15th June 2010.

 

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